New York Crosses the River
by Stephie W
Summary: An unexpected guest shows up at Morelli's house, totally uninvited and out of the blue. Now Steph, Morelli, and everyone else who knows about the girl in Morelli's house is pulled into something very dangerous. What will happen now? Babe/Cupcake friendly
1. An Unexpected Visitor

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I own none of these characters except Viviana (so far, that's the only character I've introduced that's new). JE is the master of all things Stephanie Plum.

Yeah, this is my first story for fanfiction. Please don't be too harsh on me, if you will. I've just had this idea bouncing around in my head involving one of my random characters and thought it might be cool to get out there. Review, please! I really want to know if it's any good or not, and if anyone likes it enough for me to keep putting up new chapters!

Btw, there's no romance so far, but there will be. ;) It could honestly go either way, honestly. It's like a Babecake story. :P

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I sighed. It had been a long day, and I was completely ready to go back to Morelli's and have some nice pizza and beer. I plunked down in the crap-brown couch in Vinnie's office, totally beat. I'd had to drag in another naked FTA. God, I hated it when that happened. Unfortunately, we'd taken the Firebird. Let's just say… Lula wasn't happy ("Uh-uh, we are _not_ putting another naked old dude in my baby! Why couldn't we just have taken Big Blue? _That_ car is fuckin' indestructible!").

"Tough day, huh?" Connie asked me. I just looked at her. She took out a nail file from a drawer and started filing away.

"You don't even know. That must have been the fifth naked FTA I've had to drag in. Costanza and Big Dog almost died laughing. Is it sad I've lost track of how many naked guys I've brought in?" I asked, exasperated.

"Yup," said Lula, taking out a compact mirror from her purse and looking in it while fluffing out her newly dyed orange hair. "But, hey, at least somebody got a good laugh out of it, right?"

"Sure," I replied sarcastically. "I'm so done with naked guys."

Lula's and Connie's eyebrows both went up in surprise. "Not completely done," I added quickly. Wouldn't want to give them the wrong impression, after all.

"Okay, I'm going back to Morelli's. I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Bye, Steph," said Lula absentmindedly, still fluffing her hair out. I had heard about nothing else all day besides her date later that night with Tank. Well, I was guessing it was a night of Vin Diesel movies and sex. That's usually all they did for the most part – watching violent movies and having sex. I'm pretty sure it suited both of them just fine after all of Lula's former wedding hi-jinks a little while back.

Connie waved at me, stopping her nail filing for a moment. I rolled my eyes and headed out the door. They cared _so_ much.

I'd had a bit of car trouble (another one exploded – too bad; this time it was another one of Ranger's black SUV's) earlier that week, so I'd borrowed Big Blue again. Big Blue is the '53 Chevy truck that never seems to get exploded or destroyed or anything, much to my chagrin. It's a man kind of car, but I'm a bit fond of it, I suppose. A little bit. Maybe.

Finally, I pulled up at Morelli's house. His car wasn't in the driveway, because it was a few hours too early for him to have gotten off duty as a plainclothes cop.

I loved his house. It was cozy and somehow seemed to fit Morelli just perfectly. I took my keys out of the ignition and walked up to the door, and then I unlocked it.

The television was on. _Odd_, I thought. _Maybe I left it on this morning._

But this was not so. There was a girl sitting on Morelli's couch, flipping idly through the channels with the remote. She looked up at the sound of the door closing and raised an eyebrow in annoyance. "You're not Morelli," she said, a thick New York accent punctuating her voice. I placed her at around sixteen years old. "Where is he, anyway? Shouldn't he be home by now?"

"Um… no. Sorry." Why was I apologizing to this girl? She'd broken into Morelli's house (how I didn't really want to know), and now she was watching his T.V. She needed to be kicked out and handed over to the police. What she'd obviously done was completely illegal. I plopped down on the couch beside her and continued, "Er… I hate to be rude, but may I ask what you are doing here?"

The girl looked straight at me, and for the first time I had a really good look at her. Her hair was nearly as dark as Morelli's, and parted so that most of it was on the left side of her head (a very fashionable way to wear your hair, I guess), and she had strikingly piercing green eyes. There was a necklace clasped around her throat, and I made a mental note of it because it was so interesting. The necklace was a silver chain with a princess's silver crown as its only ornament. Small pink stones adorned the points on the crown. I wondered if they were real pink sapphires or not, since I wasn't close enough to tell. The silver was definitely real, though. Her facial expression somehow reminded me of Morelli: closed and yet open, totally serene, the face of a person you know you can trust to know what to do in any situation. In control, no matter what.

"Well," she began, crossing her legs. I realized that every part of her was designer. She was dressed for winter in New York. Her boots were Uggs, her jeans were styled skinny and the designer was the expensive True Religion (their jeans were, on average, around $450), her shirt was a low-cut Armani, and her purse was Versace. There was nothing she wore that didn't cost at least $200. "I'm here for Morelli." And then she turned her gaze back to the screen. Hmph. Rude little thing.

We spent another couple of hours just sitting there in silence, since I didn't know what to say to that (and I didn't trust her enough to go anywhere I couldn't see her when she was in Morelli's house) and she didn't seem to feel like sharing anything with me. Then Morelli walked in, He must have heard the T.V., because he called out, "Hey, Cupcake. I didn't know you were home already. Why didn't you call me?"

I smelled pizza. I couldn't help myself. "Pino's?" I asked. Please be Pino's.

"Of course," he replied, sauntering into the living room with the pizza balanced in one hand. His eyes widened when he took in the girl. I realized I didn't even know her name.

He spluttered, "Viviana!?" The pizza nearly dropped out of his hand, but he caught it just in time with the other hand before it fell to the floor. "What the hell are you doing in Jersey? For that matter, what the HELL are you doing in MY HOUSE?"

It'd been a while since I'd heard Morelli yell. Something must definitely be up. That something must be big, something that involved the girl in Morelli's living room, and something I don't know about. Oh, boy.


	2. Startling Confessions

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I own none of these characters except Viviana (so far, that's the only character I've introduced that's new). JE is the master of all things Stephanie Plum.

Thanks for the reviews, guys! :D You've convinced me to put up the next chapter and continue working on the third. :) Keep the reviews coming; I need encouragement! Also, sorry for the short chapters. I find a good place to stop a chapter and I stop it, regardless of word count. :P

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Chapter 2

The girl just looked at him, one perfectly sculpted eyebrow raised in a delicate arch.

"Seriously, Viv, what are you doing here?" he asked when she didn't reply. His voice was tight and strained, like he wanted to yell really badly, but knew nothing would be accomplished by yelling at this girl.

"That's not a very nice greeting, Morelli. I'm not saying a word of why I'm here until you greet me like you _should_ greet family." Whoa, what? Did she say 'family'?

"Viv, I don't have time for this, or for you. What do you want?"

"Nope. My lips are sealed until you give me a nice hello. Don't make me call your mother, 'cause I will."

Morelli blew out an exasperated sigh. "Fine, fine. You win, Viv," he said, shaking his head. He put down the pizza on the kitchen countertop and sauntered over to the couch, where I was still sitting, dumbfounded. He plastered a fake, overwrought smile on his face and said (very sarcastically), "Hello, Viv. How've you been? Is your dad doin' good? How's school?"

She smiled wickedly. "That's better," she said.

Morelli's eyes narrowed. "Are you going to explain now?"

"Yeah," she said coolly. "I guess." She examined her French-manicured nails idly, as though she could think of a hundred other better things to do than be here. "Well, to begin with, I've been shipped here, and obviously not of my own wishes. Apparently, my father's in some sort of trouble. He wanted me out of New York while he sorts it out, so _I'm_ not in danger."

He paused for a moment, digesting this information (obviously, it all made perfect sense to him, but I wasn't following anything). "Hmm," he said. "Why here? Why my house? Surely you have a dozen other relatives that could've taken you in."

Viviana's eyes seemed to get a little sad at that comment for a moment, but I guess I imagined it, because her eyes were as fierce as before when I looked again. She said something in rapid Italian _("I need somewhere to stay. My father said you were the best alternative, since you were an out-of-state cop.")_. I blinked. So, she was from New York, knew Italian, and was a relative of Joe's. Fabulous. But that still didn't explain why she was here, at Morelli's.

Joe replied, still in Italian _("Yes, but still. There were others. I admire your spirit in coming here of all places. If things don't work out, you'll be in more danger for staying with a cop who knows everything than anything else you could have possibly done. I see you've still got guts, kid."),_ with a bemused expression on his face. She frowned. "That may be so," Viviana said. Thank God, they were back to English. "Everyone agreed it was better for me to get out of the city. Everything's in total turmoil and no one wanted me in the way. What if I was kidnapped?"

"No one has to worry about you being kidnapped, Viv," Morelli said easily. "You've got that necklace, remember? You never take it off."

Her hand went up automatically to grab the crown on the silver chain. "So? What if I dropped it, or someone ripped it off, and there was no way for them to find me? Then what? I'll tell you what. The Frazonis win. That's what. There hasn't been a war like this in years. You have to have heard that somewhere. You may live in Jersey, but you're a cop."

"Speaking of that. The Frazonis have no chance against your dad, and you know it. Why are you all so worried? By the way, isn't is against the rules for someone who has a close relative in the police to even be involved -"

"Shut up, Morelli! I don't know if I can trust her, and you know how dangerous it is that even _you _know." Whoa, she's telling him to shut up! This girl has some serious balls.

"Yeah, but I'm not stupid enough to try to prove something with your dad involved in it. That's like suicide."

Viviana thought this over for a moment. "True," she said. "You're absolutely right." She fingered her necklace absentmindedly, as if considering the correct words. "But there've been some new developments. The Frazonis, particularly Marco Frazoni, have been gettin' more rowdy. They're movin' in on my dad's territory. There's gonna be a war, Joe. A huge mutiny, if I don't do somethin' to stop it. I need your help."


	3. And So It Comes Out

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I own none of these characters except Viviana (so far, that's the only character I've introduced that's new). JE is the master of all things Stephanie Plum.

Kay, here's the continuation of 'New York Crosses the River'. If you like it and want me to keep posting the chapters, please review it! Out of pride, I need to know someone's reading this or I'll be too embarrassed to continue. XP If you like it, hate it, have something to critique or praise, please tell me! Thanks! :D

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Joe scooted me over gently and sat down on the couch next to Viviana. She gazed at him through narrowed eyes. She really did look a lot like him. She must be a close relative. I decided this was probably the best time to jump in, since neither of them was saying anything. "Um…" I said cautiously. "What's going on?"

Joe looked at me for probably the first time since he got home. His eyes were blank, like he wasn't registering what he was hearing about Viv's situation. Before he answered me, he turned to Viv and asked her something in Italian _("Can I tell her, or is it too dangerous to get her involved at all?")_. Damn them for speaking a language I didn't know. The eyebrow went up again and she asked him a question in return _("That all depends. Do you trust her with this? I don't even remember her name, but I recall someone telling me that she turned down several of your proposals.")_ Viviana grinned suddenly, flashing perfectly straight, pearl-white teeth. I did a mental head smack for not learning Italian when I was a kid. She started talking in Italian again. _("So. We both win. I can help you with your obvious lady problems, and you can give me protection. What do you say, Joe?")_

It appeared she had turned the conversation into a direction Joe didn't want it to go, because he was frowning fiercely. Joe replied ("_You're changing the topic, Viviana. Remember, I'm a cop as well as your cousin. I've known you since you were born, and I can see right through every trick you've got. Now, is it all right for me to tell Stephanie?"_ I heard my name. What was going _on?_ Viviana puffed out an annoyed sigh (very Morelli-like). She said something else in angry, rapid-fire Italian _("Fine, fine. Tell her. In fact, shout it out your damn window, so the whole neighborhood can hear it! I don't care at this point! It's already too late!")_, and I was getting very annoyed with them.

Finally, Morelli took mercy on me and went to English again. "Steph, there's a bit you don't know about my family. This is Viviana, my little cousin on my mother's side. Her father is Vincent Bonecci."

My mouth dropped open. "This is Viviana _Bonecci?_" I exclaimed. The Boneccis were _the_ Mafia family of New York. Vincent Bonecci was the _capo di tutti capi _(or head boss of all the head bosses in the Mob families) at the moment. How the hell was Joe related to them directly and I didn't know? "H-how?"

Morelli sighed. "Well… as a cop, I really didn't want anybody to know I had -"

"What?" Viviana said in a scoffing voice. "Ashamed of your family on the wrong side of the law?"

"As a matter of fact, _Viv_," he said stiffly. Obviously this girl wasn't someone you wanted to mess with. With a father like Vincent Bonecci, I imagined she was a very formidable force. "I am. I know you have your issues, but that necklace was put in place to protect you from getting kidnapped again. I shouldn't have to do this. I thought I was done with you all when I erased you from my file." His eyes widened slightly, like he hadn't meant for that to slip out.

"As I recall, Joe," said Viv hotly. "It was me who erased those records from your file. I was, what, eleven?"

"Yeah, at eleven you were already a criminal mastermind. I don't even want to know what that makes you now. There's no doubt as to who your _father_ is."

She stiffened. He'd hit a nerve. "Look, Morelli, what my family does is none of your business if you choose to stay out of it, which you have. You cut yourself off, if I recall right. But now I need your help. _Please_, Joe. You have no idea how hard it is for me to beg _anyone_… _ever_."

At this, Morelli cracked a smile. "That's the Bonecci pride. I'm half Bonecci, after all. I get it. Hey, now Steph knows all, so you might as well stay here. You can sleep on the couch, Viv. Make yourself at home."

She grinned at him. "Thanks, cuz," she said, hugging him unexpectedly. His eyes got wide. He hadn't really experienced too much affection of this kind from girls half his age.

Viv cleared her throat after quickly breaking from the family-type embrace. She didn't seem to be a big 'emotions' person, either. "I… uh, well… thanks a lot. I won't forget this." At that, she took off down the hall, leaving us alone on his couch.

"So," I said, leaning back into the cushion. "This is one of the things Ranger has on you? That you have family in the Mob? Correction, not _in_ the Mob, but _leading_ the Mob."

Morelli's jaw clenched. "After all this, all you can think about is Ranger?" He raked a hand through his hair in frustration. "Jesus, Steph."

I didn't get it. Why was he upset? I was only trying to lighten the mood. He was the one who hadn't told me the truth about his family. The Ranger thing slipped out, because I remembered Ranger was sometimes making comments about what he had on Morelli that could get him at least kicked off the squad. I'm not sure what punishment a police officer receives if he withholds information that could lead to Vincent Bonecci's capture and arrest. Probably not a pleasant punishment. Also it wouldn't be good for Viviana. If it got out that her cousin is a cop, I didn't want to know what some of the Mob conspirators would try to do to her, let alone her father, whose nephew is a cop. Probably also not good.

"Sorry," I mumbled. "I'm just confused. Why didn't you tell me?"

He stiffened beside me. "I didn't think you had to know, Steph. Why would I burden you with something like this? It's bad enough _I_ have to know. Do you know how much danger this puts you in?"

"Plus the fact that you're a cop and haven't come forward to prove anything about your uncle. Just saying," I said. God, why'd I have to put that out there? Did I have a death wish today? Things were finally going okay with Morelli, and now Viviana had to show up and ruin it. Pfft.

Morelli rose from the couch, his face dark with rage. "Look," he said in a voice that chilled me to my core. "I will never betray my family like that. They may not be on the right side of the law, but do you know how many cops have tried to take down the Mob from the inside to only be obliterated, just when they thought they were making progress? This is a dangerous game. You don't just go diving in with your eyes shut, even with family on the inside! My eyes are completely open, and I'm saying this is absolutely insane. I cut myself off from that side of my family. They didn't even exist anymore before _this!_" He grabbed a cushion off the couch and hurled it as far as he could across the room. It hit the opposite wall and fell pathetically to the floor.

"Well, don't take it out on the pillows," I muttered. "Gosh."

His lips twitched at the corners. "Aw, hell, I can't stay mad at you." He grabbed me from the couch and kissed me. _Yes,_ I thought. _Don't stay mad, yup…_

At that moment (of course), Viviana walked back into the living room. I heard her when she was way down the hall. "Hey, Joe, where's the nearest mall? I gotta go shopping for a new wardrobe, since all I brought with me was this purse, and -"

I stopped hearing her less than a minute into her babbling. "Should we stop?" I asked Joe.

"Mmm…" he said, smiling against my lips. "Nope. Just let her do whatever. She knows how to take care of herself."

She broke off when she saw us kissing. "Hm," she said. "Thought you had lady problems. Well, guess not. Hey, you know what? Just to not interrupt you guys, 'cause I'm so nice and all, I'm just gonna take your car, Joe. See ya later."

Oh, shit!

-------------------------- From here on out I apologize on any facts about the American mafia that I get wrong. I'm doing research on the Internet for all of this stuff, so... I guess all of the mistakes are mine and mine alone. If I got anything blatantly wrong that you know about, don't hesitate to tell me. :)


	4. Vincent Plum, I Presume

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I own none of these characters except Viviana so far. JE is the master of all things Stephanie Plum.

Wow, it's been simply flowing lately. I just don't want to leave anyone hanging, since I know how aggravated it makes me when a writer stops on a cliffhanger and then abandons a story. Ugh. I would like to thank everyone who have been reading and sticking with this and especially the people who have been commenting. You're really making me feel like someone likes my writing. Thanks, everyone! ^^

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Joe quickly broke off our kiss. Dang it. "No! Viv, just go buy a new car. Whatever you do, don't take _my_ poor car. It's been through enough already. We're way underpaid in Trenton. Have mercy."

Viv's eyebrows rose sarcastically. "Really? Well, I'll have to go see if there's a Ferrari dealer anywhere near here. Know of one around?"

The trademark cars of the Bonecci family. Any kind of Ferrari. Word on the street was that Viviana liked white 430 Ferraris. A very flashy car, indeed.

Morelli sighed. "I don't know. Go find one somewhere. Walk to the mall, maybe. Get some exercise."

"Exercise? I work out in the gym four days a week. I get enough exercise. And I can't be seen in anything other than a Ferrari. I got an image to uphold, you know."

Ugh. This girl was definitely going to be a pain in the ass. "I'll drive her to get a car," I blurted. _Just to get rid of her for a bit,_ I thought.

She looked at me like I was the last person she'd ever had in mind for a chauffeur. "Fine," she said mutinously. "Let's go." She shouldered her purse and made towards the door.

Morelli gave me a sympathetic look and kissed me on the forehead. "I'll catch you later, Cupcake," he said.

I gulped and went out the door behind Viviana. It was then that I realized how short she was. Only about 5'4", in fact, if that. Definitely related to Mrs. Morelli: small but intimidating.

"Are you comin' or not?" Viv snapped impatiently, clicking her $400 heels against the pavement.

"Yes, of course I am, Your Bratness," I snarled in an equally snappish voice.

She froze. "What did you call me?" There was a deadly calm in her voice that I took to be barely contained anger.

"Yeah, you heard me," I shot back. Wow, I really did have a death wish today. First Morelli, and now Little Miss Mafia Princess.

"You honestly just insulted me?" she looked simply dumbfounded now.

"Er…" I stammered. I wasn't sure what she was getting at, and I didn't want to get myself into deeper trouble.

Viviana walked forward a few steps, until she was nose-to-nose with me when she looked up a little. Her eyes were blazing. She looked completely furious.

I backed up, and she took a step forward. Gulp. "Look," I said in a voice that implied desperateness. "I've had a bad day. I didn't mean it. Really!"

Her face darkened. Uh-oh. "A bad day?" she repeated. "A bad day that I've caused, no doubt."

"As a matter of fact," I said boldly. Now I was running on purely adrenaline. This girl was downright scary. "Yes. You caused a majority of my bad day, you little smartass."

Viv's mouth dropped open a fraction. It must have been an expression of utter surprise for her. She opened her mouth like she was about to speak, and then closed it. She opened it and closed it again. Turning on her heel, she whirled around, smacking me with her dark hair.

"Ouch," I muttered.

"No one," she said. "_No one_ besides Joe has ever spoken to me like that in my life."

_Here it comes,_ I thought. _Brace yourself._ I closed my eyes and waited for the storm to break.

But nothing happened. When I opened my eyes again, Viviana was already in the passenger side of Big Blue, a hat pulled down over most of her face so that no one could see her. "Come on," she called, agitated.

I blinked and did as she said. I started the car and we drove off to Vinnie's office. Why, I have no idea, when we were supposed to be getting Viv a Ferrari. It just seemed like the right place to go, I guess, since I had no idea whether or not there even _was _Ferrari dealer in Jersey.

She didn't say a word when we pulled up in front of Vinnie's. I unbuckled my seatbelt, and she did the same. I opened my door; so did she. Freaky. I snuck a glance at her. Her eyes were shot through with raw fear. I was stunned. The surprise quickly turned to guilt as we went through the door of the office. This was just a scared teenage girl sent from her home for fear something bad would happen to her. Of course she was scared. She was probably terrified. How could I blow up on a teenage girl who had just been dumped at Morelli's like that? I felt a stupid and rude.

I walked in first. Lula was back to filing (miracle of miracles!), and Connie was looking around her desk area, poking her head in drawers and lifting up pencil holders.

"What're you looking for?" I asked Connie.

"Another bug," she replied, not looking up. "Vinnie's gone and hid another somewhere in here."

I heard some soft maniacal chuckling from inside Vinnie's lair. Yeesh. I went up to the door, kicked it, and scurried back over to Connie's desk. Vinnie's head popped out of his office. "What the hell, Steph?"

"What?" I asked innocently, blinking my eyes in a deer-caught-in-headlights manner.

"Why'd you kick my – oh, my God," he broke off mid-sentence, staring at something behind me. I turned around to see what he was ogling.

Naturally, it was Viviana. She was perched on the edge of the tattered brown couch on the side of the room. The way she sat precariously on the side of the couch came off as disdainful and calculating at the same time. She struck quite a figure against the normalness of Vinnie's, being completely designer and rich-looking in general against the sheer blue-collar atmosphere of the bonds office. I turned back to Vinnie, analyzing the extent of his surprise. On a scale of one to ten, it was definitely eleven.

"Is…" he couldn't even get the words out. How manly of him, being scared out of his wits by a sixteen-year-old girl. "Is that who I _think _it is?"

"Depends who you're thinkin' of," came the reply from behind me. I whirled around to look at Viv. She was idly inspecting her flawless nails. Unh.

Vinnie gulped, turned white as a sheet, and looked at me. What, was I the appointed translator of bratty rich kids or something? God. "What?" I said tersely.

"Umm… I was just wondering if you have a certain _Viviana Bonecci in my office_," Vinnie said, his voice rising to a yell at the end.

"Yeah," I replied. "So?"

Connie had looked up, and Lula has stopped her filing. Connie was paused like a movie, her hand stopping mid-file working on her nails and her mouth slightly ajar. She may have been related to half the Mob in Trenton, but I doubt she'd met someone as big city as Viv. Lula didn't seem to register who she was seeing at all.

Viv easily sauntered forward and extended her hand to Vinnie. "Hello," she said congenially. "Vincent Plum, I presume."

He nodded, totally shell-shocked. After all, it wasn't every day you saw Viviana Bonecci in your office. "H-hi," he stammered, reaching out tentatively and shaking her hand. She pumped it enthusiastically.

After letting go of Vinnie's hand, Viv turned to Connie. She smiled blindingly. "Connie Rosolli," she said, inclining her head slightly, almost as if she were showing Connie respect. How out of character.

"Yeah," she said, her eyes wide. "I'm Connie."

"And I'm Vivi-"

"Viviana Bonecci," finished Connie. "I've heard about you."

"Oh, really?" asked Viv. Her face was a mask of composure and she oozed charm and grace. She'd flustered everyone by her sudden appearance and intimidating posture. Now she was making everyone comfortable again with her blasé personality (a side of her I'd never seen before, obviously) and easy confidence. I saw how she worked. What I was loath to admit was the fact that I thought it was a brilliant way to interact with people. Damn.

"Yes," Connie replied, falling prey to Viv's evident charisma. People probably opened right up to her when she really put her mind to it. I could only imagine her effect on high school boys. "Everyone knows about Viviana Bonecci."

"And why is that?" She was making an important question sound as if she were asking about the weather or someone's family. _I should be taking notes,_ I thought. The girl was a freaking social genius.

"Because you're Vincent Bonecci's daughter," said Connie. "How would we not know?"

"Ah," said Viv. She asked Connie something in brisk-sounding Italian _("Aren't you related to a lot of the Trenton Mob, Connie?"_). Connie blinked. Viv's voice turned back to honey. "Do you know Italian?" she asked.

"Y-yes," Connie responded automatically.

"To which question?"

"Both…" she paused, unable to decide what to address Viv as. "Viviana."

"_Bene_," said Viv softly. I knew enough Italian for that one. It means 'good'.

After, she turned to Lula. Lula was a little star-struck. "Viviana?" she said. "Viviana Bonecci?"

"Lula? Is that you?" It was Viv's turn to be shocked.

"Yeah, girl! How's it goin'? It's been so long since I seen ya that I hardly recognized you! Last time we spoke you must'a been ten years old!" Lula scampered over to Viv and embraced her. Viv disappeared into Lula's size sixteen black body and size ten, totally spandex outfit. Yikes.

_Wait a minute…_ I thought. _Something's not right here. How do Lula and Viv know each other?_


End file.
